CLEARWATER, Fla. — When the Phillies first saw A.J. Burnett, he had more hair, fewer tattoos and frightening talent as a 23-year-old flame-thrower with the Florida Marlins in 2000.

The Phillies franchise and Burnett have undergone a lot of changes in the 14 years since. The combination of the Phillies’ growth into one of baseball’s big-payroll organizations and Burnett’s growth into a responsible husband and father intersected this week and led to his arrival at Bright House Field for a formal introduction as the Phillies’ No. 3 starter Sunday.

The Phillies used a generous contract offer and the benefit of being commute-friendly from Burnett’s suburban Baltimore home to land the 37-year-old right-hander, who went 10-11 with a 3.30 ERA in 30 starts for the Pirates last season.

“This is the first time in my career I made a decision that wasn’t about A.J. Burnett,” Burnett said, wearing the No. 34 uniform that Roy Halladay, his former teammate in Toronto, had worn for the Phils for the final four seasons of his career. “It was about my wife. It was about my kids. It was about playing somewhere where I’m at home and can still do what I love. And that’s feels good.”

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Burnett will receive $15 million from the Phillies in 2014 and has a player option that can be worth anywhere between $7.5 and $12.75 million in 2015 based on his number of 2014 starts, or a $15 million team/player mutual option for next season. If Burnett decides not to pitch next season, he will receive a $1 million buyout.

No one seemed more pleased with Burnett’s arrival than manager Ryne Sandberg, who looked like a man who came across a natural spring while lost in a desert.

“Just to see A.J. in a Phillies uniform today is a beautiful thing,” Sandberg said. “He’s the belated Christmas present and Valentine’s Day present that I’ve been waiting for. A little late, but I’ll take it.

“He’s a difference-maker for us. He’s a big piece. It instantly brings depth to our pitching, creates some competition for the other (rotation) spot and for the bullpen. I couldn’t be happier.”

Burnett had a chance to spend his first Valentine’s Day at home with his wife before getting in his truck Saturday morning and driving nonstop to Florida, arriving around 2 o’clock in the morning Sunday. He arrived at the ballpark as players began their morning workout, and although he won’t start any throwing until Monday, he put on his uniform and went out to meet his new teammates before workouts ended.

Burnett had a reputation over the years as a wild child who could be a handful for coaches and an organization. That seemed to change when he signed with Pittsburgh, where he resuscitated a career that had gone sour during a tumultuous three-year stint with the Yankees.

“I found who I was again,” Burnett said of his stint with the Pirates. “I went there — and I’d never put myself as a Halladay — but as far as a mentor and player-relationship-wise, that’s what I became over there. I never really looked at myself as that guy, but as soon as I walked in that door, that’s who I was. I had no say in the matter, and it showed me who I could have been for a long time, and wasn’t.”

That isn’t to say there weren’t tense moments. When the Pirates had to go to a Game 5 with the Cardinals in the NLDS, manager Clint Hurdle decided against starting Burnett and opted for rookie Gerrit Cole after Burnett was roughed up in Game 1 and Cole pitched brilliantly in Game 2. That didn’t sit well with Burnett, but he insisted that didn’t play a role in his decision to choose the Phils over the Pirates after deciding he would pitch again in 2014.

“I’m a team guy,” Burnett said. “I’ll be honest, no one wants the ball taken from you. (Sandberg) is going to learn that. There will be games I’ll come out (unhappily), and he knows that. You don’t want a pitcher who doesn’t want to pitch. But that had no influence. I would have liked to have known (from Hurdle) ahead of time where I was at, but if it’s going to help the team win ...”

Burnett said the final decision to pitch this season came just days before his signing, and that he appreciated the Phillies giving him space while he tried to make up his mind. That wasn’t easy, considering Phillies assistant G.M. Scott Proefrock lives in the same town and is an assistant coach to Burnett for their sons’ basketball team.

“Scott has been a friend of mine since 2006,” Burnett said. “He mentioned (the Phillies’ interest) to me early, but he was the same way. He wanted to give me space and let me decide what I wanted to do. He said, ‘Keep me in mind,’ and that was probably late November, early December. And that was the last we talked about it. It was all about basketball and having fun with the kids. He’s been a good friend for a lot of years. He’s a good man and he was very respectful.”

General manager Ruben Amaro did try playing some trump cards along the way, however.

“I tried to have Roy talk to him a few times,” Amaro said of Halladay, who is in camp as a special pitching instructor.

“(Halladay) did tell me his house was available, and I was like, ‘Hold on,’” Burnett said, laughing.

Burnett said he started surreptitiously having catches with his 12-year-old son weeks ago when the itch to put off retirement started. He didn’t seem concerned that the five-day delay in joining the Phils’ throwing program would be a concern and that he’d be ready to make that first start April 1 at Texas. He also thinks the Phillies only need a better medical rap sheet to rebound from the bummer that was 2013.

“I pay attention and health seemed to be the thing last year,” said Burnett, who has averaged 32 starts and 200 innings pitched over the last six seasons. “So with guys healthy I think this team can put up against anybody ... The family was the main decision, but on the other hand I wasn’t just going to play to play. I went to an organization that has a history and that obviously does what they want and can do to win.”